Thai Salad Rolls

Last night, we ate at a Thai restaurant where they made the most delicious salad rolls. For anyone who has never tasted a 'salad roll' before, they are fresh veggie rolls wrapped in rice paper. Lucky for me, they are not only tasty, but ridiculously easy to make. So today for lunch I'm going to made homemade tofu salad rolls.

Ingredients

• Rice paper sheets (found in every grocery store- and super cheap!)
• Firm Tofu
• Sesame seeds
• grated carrots
• Romaine lettuce
• Brussels Sprouts
• Lime
• Frank's Hot sauce (optional)

Directions

Prepare your vegetables and tofu first. Cut the lettuce and grate the carrots. Slice the tofu in 1/3 inch thick slices. Boil water. Drop the rice papers into the water and after about 10-15 seconds take them out using a spoon. This can be a little tricky because the rice paper will stick to itself. Place it onto a plate or counter top and using your hands, pull it open. In the centre place your tofu, lettuce, sprouts, carrots, sprinkle sesame seeds, drizzle lime juice and hot sauce. Fold the edges over and roll it into a cylinder/spring roll shape. I like to use at least two rice paper sheets per salad roll.

Once you've made all your rolls, enjoy them with some peanut sauce or on their own.

Sunday Night Dinner

This Sunday I'm having a dinner party at my house. I will have to cook enough food for eight hungry friends. The biggest challenge? Making something that is vegan but satisfying for non-vegetarians. Since most of my friends are not vegans, I know they're a little apprehensive about eating my food; some worry they'll still be hungry afterwards. My one friend recently told me that he eats a full dinner before he comes over to eat at my apartment! Crazy. We vegans/vegetarians like to eat too. So this Sunday I'm determined to prove them all wrong and make them "Thanksgiving Dinner Full" (sweatpants are going to be needed).

Here's what's on the menu: Vegan Shepard's Pie.

Ingredients

Potatoes

• four medium potatoes
• 1/2 cup of non-dairy milk
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 tsp sea salt

Lentils

• 1 1/4 cup of lentils (green)
• 2 1/2 cups of veggies stock

Vegetable Filling

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 chopped onions
• 3 chopped carrots
• 5 chopped brown mushrooms
• 2 celery stalks
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp tomato paste

Directions

Boil potatoes. Drain, mash them with milk, oil and salt. Set them aside.

Combine lentils and veggie stock. bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 40 mins. Stir occasionally.

Preheat oven 350 F. Heat oil in a saucepan and saute the onions. Add carrots and saute for another 5 mins, or until the carrots start to get soft. Add celery, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, coriander and salt. Once everything is soft, stir in your tomato paste. I also added a couple tsp of water to prevent it all from sticking.

Put your veggie filling into an oiled casserole dish, top with the mashed potatoes and sprinkling some olive oil and light thyme on top. Bake for 25 mins. If you want to brown the top, turn on the broiler for the last 5 mins, it'll get nice and crunchy. Remove and serve.

Double Chocolate Chip cookies

Life Lesson: Never go to a party empty handed, especially if it's a dinner party. My friend Amy loves to bring people flowers (tulips in the Spring), my sister likes to bring wine, and me, I like to bring cookies. I think it's a nice touch when you bake for someone, it shows you care! Not to sound too much like Martha Stewart, but it's true. Tonight I'm going to my sister's for dinner. I have an hour and have decided to make double chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of flour


• 1/2 cup of cocoa


• 1tsp baking soda


• 1/4 tsp of salt (pinch)


• 1 cup of vegetable oil


• 1 1/4 cup of sugar


• 1 ripe banana


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1 1/4 cup of non-dairy dark chocolate chips but these would also be tasty with white chocolate chips, mind you they have dairy.


• 1 cup of chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Set it aside. In a separate bowl mash your banana, add vanilla and oil. Add the wet ingredients and stir it until it's well-mixed. Fold in chocolate chips and pecan.

Roll your dough into small size balls and place them onto the greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each ball. Place your tray into the oven for approx. 12 minutes, or until the top is crispy but the inside is still soft.

Let them cool and serve with soy ice cream or almond milk for dipping!